WO2025167841A1 - Communication method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, used for reasonably selecting a sending end of a sensing signal. The method can comprise: a sensing device receives a sensing request, wherein the sensing request is used for requesting a first sensing service; and the sensing device determines a first terminal as a sending end of a sensing signal of the first sensing service on the basis of a positioning permission of the first terminal and/or a sensing role indication of the first terminal, wherein the positioning permission of the first terminal is used for determining that position information of the first terminal is allowed to be acquired, and the sensing role indication is used for indicating that the first terminal is allowed to serve as a sending end of the sensing signal.

Description

Communication method and device

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on February 8, 2024, with application number 202410179409.8 and invention name "A Communication Method and Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of mobile communication technologies, and in particular to a communication method and device.

Background Art

With the development of fifth-generation (5G) networks, the demand for new perception-based network capabilities is gradually emerging. For example, in scenarios such as smart cities and smart transportation, there is a growing need to obtain the relative positions and angles between objects, as well as to perceive the position, speed, and shape of target objects. For mobile targets, sensing nodes with sensing capabilities can send sensing signals and measure these signals to achieve perception of the target object.

How to choose the appropriate transmitter of the perception signal is a problem that needs to be solved at present.

Summary of the Invention

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for reasonably selecting a transmitter of a perception signal.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be described by a first communication device. The first communication device may be a perception device or a component in a perception device. The perception device may be a perception network element or a terminal device. The perception network element may be a sensing function (SF), an SF control plane (SF-C), or an SF user plane (SF-U), or a perception server. The components in the present application may include, for example, at least one of a chip, a chip system, a processor, a transceiver, a processing unit, or a transceiver unit. Taking the execution subject as an example, the method may be implemented by the following steps: the perception device receives a perception request, the perception request is used to request a first perception service; the perception device determines that the first terminal is the sender of a perception signal for the first perception service based on the positioning authority of the first terminal and/or the perception role indication of the first terminal, the positioning authority of the first terminal is used to determine that the location information of the first terminal is allowed to be obtained, and the perception role indication is used to indicate that the first terminal is allowed to be the sender of the perception signal.

According to the method shown in the first aspect, the perception device can reasonably determine the sender of the perception signal based on the positioning authority of the first terminal and/or the perception role indication of the first terminal, that is, the first terminal that allows the location information to be obtained and/or the first terminal that allows to be the sender of the perception signal is determined as the sender of the perception signal. The sender of the perception signal thus determined sends the perception signal, and even if the location information of the sender is calculated by a malicious perception signal receiver, there will be no privacy leakage problem. That is to say, it avoids the security risks caused by arbitrarily determining the sender, for example, using a terminal device that is not allowed to obtain location information as the sender of the perception signal, resulting in the malicious perception signal receiver calculating the location information of the terminal device after the sender sends the perception signal, resulting in a privacy leakage problem.

It can be understood that the perception device determines the first terminal as the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service based on the positioning authority of the first terminal and/or the perception role indication of the first terminal. Specifically, the perception device determines the first terminal (or determines multiple terminal devices including the first terminal device, or determines an unspecified terminal device) as the alternative transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service based on the perception request, and then determines the first terminal as the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service based on the positioning authority of the first terminal and/or the perception role indication of the first terminal, so as to verify whether the first terminal can serve as the transmitter based on the positioning authority of the first terminal and/or the perception role indication of the first terminal.

In the present application, the first terminal may be a terminal device that meets the requirements of the first perception service, that is, the first terminal allows or supports the execution of the first perception service. The perception capability of the first terminal can support the first terminal as a transmitter of the perception signal. In addition, the positioning authority of the first terminal is used to determine that the location information of the first terminal is allowed to be obtained, and/or the perception role indication of the first terminal is used to indicate that the first terminal is allowed to be a transmitter of the perception signal. Among them, the present application does not limit the order in which the perception device determines that the first terminal meets the requirements of the first perception service, the perception device determines that the perception capability of the first terminal supports the first terminal as a transmitter of the perception signal, and the perception device obtains the positioning authority and/or perception role indication of the first terminal.

In a possible implementation, the perception device may further send a perception control request to the first terminal, where the perception control request is used to instruct sending a perception signal of the first perception service.

Based on this implementation, when the perception device is a device other than a perception network element or the first terminal, the perception device can trigger the first terminal to send a perception signal through a perception control request.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the sensing device sending a sensing signal of the first sensing service.

Based on this implementation, when the perception device is a first terminal, the first terminal may send a perception signal after determining that it can serve as a transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service.

In one possible implementation, before determining the first terminal as the sender of the perception signal of the first perception service based on the positioning authority of the first terminal, the method also includes: the perception device determines the perception mode based on the perception request, and the perception mode is to send the perception signal through the terminal.

Based on this implementation, the perception device may execute the method shown in this application when determining that the perception mode is to send a perception signal through a terminal.

In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the sensing device obtains the positioning authority of the first terminal, the positioning authority of the first terminal includes at least one of the following: feedback of the positioning notification, the positioning notification is used to request the first terminal or the user of the first terminal to reply to agree or disagree to the acquisition of location information; the positioning authority signed by the first terminal; indication information used to indicate that the location information of the first terminal is allowed to be acquired, the indication information is determined based on the positioning authority signed by the first terminal and/or the feedback of the positioning notification.

Based on this implementation method, the positioning authority of the terminal device may include feedback of the positioning notification, the positioning authority of the terminal contract, and at least one of the indication information for indicating whether the terminal's location information is allowed or not to be obtained, which can realize the reasonable determination of the sender of the perception signal.

In one possible implementation, the positioning authority of the first terminal includes the indication information, and the way in which the perception device obtains the indication information includes: the perception device obtains the positioning authority subscribed by the first terminal and/or the feedback of the positioning notification; the perception device determines the indication information based on the positioning authority subscribed by the first terminal and/or the feedback of the positioning notification.

In one possible implementation, the positioning authority of the first terminal includes feedback on the positioning notification, and obtaining the feedback on the positioning notification includes: sensing that a device sends the positioning notification, and further obtaining the feedback on the positioning notification based on a first response message to the positioning notification. The feedback on the positioning notification may be determined based on the first response message or may be included in the first response message.

In one possible implementation, the sending of the positioning notification includes: the perception network element sends the positioning notification to the first terminal through the access and mobility management network element (such as AMF); the access and mobility management network element can receive the positioning notification from the SF and send the positioning notification to the first terminal.

Furthermore, the first terminal may receive the positioning notification; the first terminal may trigger a positioning notification feedback request based on the positioning notification, the positioning notification feedback request being used to request the user to respond with consent or non-consent to the acquisition of location information; the first terminal may also obtain operational feedback for the feedback request triggering the positioning notification or feedback indicating no operational response from the user, and send a second response message to the access and mobility management network element based on the operational feedback or the feedback indicating no operational response from the user. The access and mobility management network element may also send a second response message based on the second response message or the failure to receive the second response message to the positioning notification within a predetermined time period, the second response message indicating that the first terminal or the user of the first terminal responded with consent to the acquisition of location information, that the first terminal or the user of the first terminal responded with non-consent to the acquisition of location information, or that the user provided no operational feedback. The perception network element may also receive the first response message from the access and mobility management network element. The first response may indicate that the first terminal or the user of the first terminal responded with consent to the acquisition of location information, that the first terminal or the user of the first terminal responded with non-consent to the acquisition of location information, that the user provided no operational feedback, or that the first terminal did not respond to the positioning notification.

If the sensing device is a sensing network element, the sensing network element may send a positioning notification to the terminal device via the access and mobility management network element based on the identifier of the access and mobility management network element to which the terminal device belongs. The terminal device may trigger a positioning notification feedback request based on the positioning notification, requesting the user to respond with consent or disapproval of obtaining the terminal device's location information. The terminal device may obtain a second response message to the positioning notification based on the user's operational feedback and feedback the second response message to the access and mobility management network element. The access and mobility management network element may also determine a first response message to the positioning notification based on the second response message and send the first response message to the sensing network element, allowing the sensing network element to determine feedback on the positioning notification based on the first response message. The sensing network element may obtain an association between the terminal device and the access and mobility management network element. For example, the sensing network element may obtain a correspondence between the access and mobility management network element identifier and the terminal device identifier through the terminal device's sensing capability reporting process. For another example, the sensing network element may obtain a correspondence between the access and mobility management network element identifier and the terminal device identifier from the data management function network element.

In addition, when an interface exists between the perception network element and the access network device, the perception network element can send a positioning notification to the terminal device through the access network device where the terminal device is located. The access network device can send a positioning notification to the terminal device, and the terminal device can determine a response message based on the operation feedback of the positioning notification triggered by the positioning notification or the user's no operation feedback, which is used to indicate that the first terminal or the user of the first terminal replies that they agree to obtain the location information, that the first terminal or the user of the first terminal replies that they do not agree to obtain the location information, or that the user has no operation feedback. The terminal device can also provide a response message to the perception network element, and the perception network element can determine the feedback of the positioning notification based on the response message of the positioning notification.

In a possible implementation, the positioning authority of the first terminal includes the positioning authority subscribed by the first terminal, and obtaining the positioning authority of at least one terminal includes: obtaining the positioning authority subscribed by the first terminal from the data management function network element.

For example, obtaining the subscribed positioning authority of the first terminal from the data management function network element may include: the perception network element sending the identifier of the first terminal to the data management function network element, for example, the identifier of the first terminal is included in a subscribed positioning authority acquisition request; after receiving the request, the data management function network element may determine the subscribed positioning authority of the first terminal based on the identifier of the first terminal; the data management function network element may also send the subscribed positioning authority of the first terminal and receive the subscribed positioning authority of the first terminal from the data management function network element. Wherein, when there are multiple terminal devices, the perception network element may send the identifiers of multiple terminal devices through one request and/or receive the subscribed positioning authorities of multiple terminal devices provided by the data management function network element through one signaling, thereby saving signaling.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the perception device obtains the perception capability information of the first terminal from the first terminal; and, based on the perception capability information, determines that the first terminal supports being a transmitter of a perception signal. The fact that the terminal device supports being a transmitter of a perception signal can serve as a condition for the perception device to determine to trigger the execution of the method described in this application, or as a condition for triggering the acquisition of the positioning authority subscribed by the terminal device, or as a condition for triggering the acquisition of feedback of the positioning notification described in this application. That is, the perception device can execute the method described in this application when it learns that the terminal device supports being a transmitter of a perception signal.

In one possible implementation, if the sensing device is a first terminal, the positioning authority of the first terminal includes feedback on the positioning notification, and obtaining the positioning authority of the first terminal includes: the first terminal triggers the positioning notification; the first terminal can also obtain operation feedback on the positioning notification, and determine the feedback of the positioning notification based on the operation feedback.

In a possible implementation, the sensing device may obtain the sensing role indication from the first terminal. The sensing device may receive the sensing role indication from an access and mobility management network element.

For example, the perception role indication may be included in the perception capabilities reported by the first terminal. The perception capability information may be reported by the first terminal to the perception network element via the access and mobility management network element. The perception capability information may be included in a registration request sent by the first terminal to the access and mobility management network element. The perception capability information may be included in a perception registration request sent by the access and mobility management network element to the perception device.

In a possible implementation, the method of determining the first terminal as the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service based on the positioning authority of the first terminal and/or the perception role indication of the first terminal includes: determining the first terminal as the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service from the multiple second terminals based on the positioning authority of multiple second terminals and/or the perception role indication of the multiple second terminals, the positioning authority of the second terminal is used to indicate whether the location information is allowed or not to be obtained, and the perception role indication of the second terminal is used to indicate whether it is allowed or not to be the transmitter of the perception signal. Based on this implementation, the positioning authority of the first terminal and/or the perception role indication of the first terminal can be used by the perception device to determine the first terminal from the multiple second terminals, so that the terminal suitable for the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service can be further determined, thereby realizing the reasonable determination of the transmitter of the perception signal.

In one possible implementation, the positioning authority of the first terminal corresponds to a position and/or a time; the determination of the first terminal as the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service further includes: the perception device determines the first terminal as the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service according to the position of the first terminal and/or the time information of the perception request. Based on this implementation, the perception device can further reasonably determine the transmitter of the perception signal according to the position and/or time corresponding to the positioning authority of the terminal device. For example, according to the position of the terminal device and/or the time corresponding to the perception request, it is determined that the terminal device that is allowed to be the transmitter of the perception signal at this position and/or time information is the terminal device that is allowed to be the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a second communication device. The second communication device can be a terminal device (such as a first terminal) or a component in the terminal device. Among them, the component in the present application may include, for example, at least one of a chip, a chip system, a processor, a transceiver, a processing unit, or a transceiver unit. Taking the execution subject as the first terminal as an example, the method can be implemented by the following steps: the first terminal receives a positioning notification, and the positioning notification is used to request the first terminal or the user of the first terminal to reply to agree or disagree to obtain location information; the first terminal can also trigger a feedback request for the positioning notification based on the positioning notification, and the feedback request for the positioning notification is used to request the user to reply to agree or disagree to obtain location information; the first terminal can also send a response message based on the user's operation feedback on the feedback request for the positioning notification or the user's no operation feedback, and the response message indicates: the first terminal or the user replies to agree to obtain location information, disagree to obtain location information, or the user has no operation feedback.

The beneficial effects of the technical solutions shown in the above second aspect and its various possible implementations can refer to the description of the beneficial effects of the first aspect and its corresponding technical solutions.

In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a second communication device. The second communication device can be a terminal device (such as a first terminal) or a component in the terminal device. Among them, the components in this application may include, for example, at least one of a chip, a chip system, a processor, a transceiver, a processing unit, or a transceiver unit. Taking the execution subject as an example of a terminal device, the method can be implemented by the following steps: the terminal device obtains a perception role indication, and the perception role indication is used to indicate that the first terminal is allowed to serve as a sender of a perception signal; the terminal device sends the perception role indication.

The terminal device may include a first terminal that serves as a transmitter of a perception signal of a first perception service.

In a possible implementation, the terminal device may also trigger a perception role request, which is used to request the user to reply and agree to be the sender of the perception signal; the terminal device may also obtain operation feedback of the perception role request and determine the perception role indication based on the operation feedback.

In a possible implementation manner, the awareness role indication is carried in a registration request of the terminal.

The beneficial effects of the technical solutions shown in the third aspect and its various possible implementations can refer to the description of the beneficial effects of the first aspect and its corresponding technical solutions.

In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device can implement the method described in any possible implementation of any of the first to third aspects. The device has the functions of the first or second communication device described above. The device can be, for example, a terminal device, a functional module in a terminal device, a network device, or a functional module in a network device.

In an optional implementation, the device may include a module corresponding to the method/operation/step/action described in any possible implementation of any aspect from the first aspect to the third aspect, and the module may be a hardware circuit, or software, or a hardware circuit combined with software. In an optional implementation, the device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module) and a communication unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module, a communication module, etc.). The transceiver unit can implement a sending function and a receiving function. When the transceiver unit implements the sending function, it can be called a sending unit (sometimes also referred to as a sending module). When the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it can be called a receiving unit (sometimes also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional module, which is called a transceiver unit, and the functional module can implement a sending function and a receiving function; or, the sending unit and the receiving unit can be different functional modules, and the transceiver unit is a general term for these functional modules.

Exemplarily, when the apparatus is used to execute the method described in any one of the first to third aspects, the apparatus may include a communication unit and a processing unit.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, comprising a processor for executing a computer program (or computer executable instructions) stored in a memory. When the computer program (or computer executable instructions) is executed, the device executes the method described in any possible implementation of any aspect from the first to the third aspect.

In one possible implementation, the processor and memory are integrated;

In another possible implementation, the memory is located outside the communication device.

The communication device also includes a communication interface, which is used for the communication device to communicate with other devices, such as sending or receiving data and/or signals. Exemplarily, the communication interface can be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module or other type of communication interface.

In the sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which is used to store computer programs or instructions. When the computer-readable storage medium is executed, the method described in any possible implementation of any aspect from the first to the third aspect and the method shown in any possible implementation thereof are implemented.

According to a seventh aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the method described in any possible implementation of any one of the first to third aspects to be implemented.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device for executing the method described in any possible implementation of any one of the first to third aspects above.

In the ninth aspect, a chip system is provided, which includes a logic circuit (or it can be understood that the chip system includes a processor, and the processor may include a logic circuit, etc.), and may also include an input and output interface. The input and output interface can be used to input messages and can also be used to output messages. The input and output interfaces can be the same interface, that is, the same interface can implement both the sending function and the receiving function; or, the input and output interfaces include an input interface and an output interface, the input interface is used to implement the receiving function, that is, for receiving messages; the output interface is used to implement the sending function, that is, for sending messages. The logic circuit can be used to perform the operations other than the sending and receiving functions in the method described in any possible implementation of any one of the first to third aspects above; the logic circuit can also be used to transmit messages to the input and output interface, or receive messages from other communication devices from the input and output interface. The chip system can be used to implement the method described in any possible implementation of any one of the first to third aspects above. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

Optionally, the chip system may further include a memory, which may be used to store instructions, and the logic circuit may call the instructions stored in the memory to implement corresponding functions.

In the tenth aspect, a communication method is provided, which may include the method implemented by the first communication device as shown in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, and the method implemented by the second communication device as shown in the second aspect or the third aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

In an eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided, which may include a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device may be used to implement the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, and the second communication device may be used to implement the method of the second aspect or the third aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

The technical effects brought about by the above second to eleventh aspects can be found in the description of the beneficial effects of the corresponding schemes in the above first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a wireless communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another wireless communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a sensing node provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a perception scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG5 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG9 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG10 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG11 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG12 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG13 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For ease of understanding, the network architecture applicable to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application is first described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figures 1a) and 1b respectively illustrate two possible architectures in a 5G network: a converged architecture (see Figure 1a)) and a standalone architecture (see Figure 1b)). The difference between the converged and standalone architectures lies in the location of the service-specific SF deployment.

As shown in Figure 1 (a), in a converged architecture, the SF can be deployed within the traditional 5G core network (5GC) and interact with other network elements using a serving-based architecture (SBA) interface. A more detailed description of the SBA is provided in Figure 2 and is not detailed here. The SF can interact with servers external to the 5GC through the NEF, for example, receiving perception request messages from external servers. RAN devices, such as base stations, can send received perception data to the SF via the user plane for processing.

As shown in Figure 1 (b), in a standalone architecture, the SF can be deployed outside the traditional 5GC. The SF cannot interact with other network elements using the SBA interface and may need to communicate with other 5GC network elements through an NEF (such as NEF 1 in the figure). Alternatively, the SF can interact with external servers through the NEF, or directly with external servers without the NEF. Furthermore, the SF can interact with RAN equipment and, further, with terminal devices through the RAN equipment.

It should be understood that the two possible architectures shown in a) and b) of Figure 1 are merely examples of the 5GC architecture and should not constitute any limitation on the present application. The method provided in this application is not limited to use in the two architectures shown in Figure 1.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the network architecture of an SBA in a 5G network provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 2, the 5G network architecture may include three parts: the terminal, the data network (DN), and the operator network.

The following is a brief description of the network elements involved in Figures 1 and 2.

A terminal may also be called user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, user agent or user device.

A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities. It communicates with one or more core network (CN) devices (also called core devices) via access network equipment (also called access devices) within a wireless access network. Terminals can be deployed on land, indoors or outdoors, handheld or in vehicles; on water (such as ships); or in the air (such as aircraft, balloons, and satellites).

A terminal can also be an endpoint in the Internet of Things (IoT) system, also known as an IoT node. IoT is a crucial component of future information technology development. Its primary technical feature is connecting objects to the Internet through communication technologies, enabling intelligent networks that interconnect humans and machines, and objects and things. Connections can be achieved through broadband or narrowband (NB) technology. IoT technology, for example, utilizes narrowband technology to achieve massive connections, deep coverage, and power-saving terminals.

In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal may be a terminal, or a device capable of supporting the terminal in implementing the functions, such as a chip system, which may be installed in the terminal or used in conjunction with the terminal. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices. In the embodiments of the present application, only the terminal is used as an example to illustrate the device for implementing the functions of the terminal, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to the solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

The terminal in this application can be a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, a software function running on general-purpose hardware, or a virtualized device, for example, implemented by general-purpose hardware and instantiated virtualization functions, or by dedicated hardware and instantiated virtualization functions. The general-purpose hardware can be a server, such as a cloud server.

The operator network may include one or more of the following network elements: an authentication server function (AUSF) network element, a network exposure function (NEF) network element, a policy control function (PCF) network element, a unified data management (UDM) network element, a network repository function (NRF) network element, an application function (AF) network element, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a session management function module (SMF) network element, a user plane function (UPF) network element, a network slice selection function (NSSF) network element, and an access network (AN) (such as a radio access network (RAN) network element). In the above-mentioned operator network, the part other than the RAN network element may be referred to as the core network part. For the sake of convenience, the word "network element" is omitted in the following text. For example, AF network element is abbreviated as AF, UDM network element is abbreviated as UDM, SF network element is abbreviated as SF, and so on.

The RAN, a network consisting of multiple RAN nodes, implements radio physical layer functions, resource scheduling and radio resource management, radio access control, and mobility management. The 5G-RAN connects to the user plane function (UPF) via the user plane interface (N3) to transmit data between terminal devices. The 5G-RAN establishes a control plane signaling connection with the access and mobility management function (AMF) via the control plane interface (N2) to implement functions such as radio access bearer control.

RAN nodes provide wireless communication services and connect terminals to wireless networks. RAN nodes can also be called RAN devices or access network devices.

In one possible scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system. A RAN node can be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor base station, a relay node or a donor node, or a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. Optionally, a RAN node can also be a server.

In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist terminals in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing portions of the base station's functionality. For example, a RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be separate or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). Network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU).

In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN) system, CU may also be called open CU (O-CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit among the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of a RAN node may be the RAN node itself; or it may be a device capable of supporting the RAN node in implementing the functions, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a combination of a hardware circuit and a software module. The device may be installed in the RAN node or used in conjunction with the RAN node. The embodiments of the present application are described using the RAN node as an example, and do not limit the embodiments of the present application.

The RAN node in this application can be a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, a software function running on general-purpose hardware, or a virtualized device, for example, implemented by general-purpose hardware and instantiated virtualization functions, or by dedicated hardware and instantiated virtualization functions. The general-purpose hardware can be a server, such as a cloud server.

SF is mainly responsible for the related processing of perception services, such as determining the perception results based on the acquired perception data, such as whether there is an intrusion, or calculating the distance, direction, and position of the surrounding reflective objects in the perception area.

AMF is mainly responsible for terminal authentication, terminal mobility management (MM), network slice selection, and SMF selection. It serves as the anchor point for N1 and N2 signaling connections and provides routing for N1/N2 session management (SM) messages for SMF. It also maintains and manages terminal status information.

SMF is mainly responsible for all control plane functions of terminal session management, including UPF selection, Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation, session quality of service (QoS) management, and obtaining PCC (policy and charging control) strategies (from PCF).

As the anchor point for protocol data unit (PDU) session connections, UPF is responsible for terminal data packet filtering, data transmission/forwarding, rate control, and billing information generation.

UDR is mainly used to store user data, including contract data called by UDM, policy information called by PCF, structured data for capability exposure, and application data called by NEF.

UDM is mainly used to manage and control user data, such as the management of contract information, including obtaining contract information from UDR and providing it to other network elements (such as AMF); generating 3GPP authentication credentials for the terminal; and registering and maintaining the network element currently serving the terminal (for example, the AMF represented by AMF ID1 is the terminal's current serving AMF, serving AMF)).

NEF is used to connect other internal network elements of the core network and the application function (AF) network elements corresponding to the application server (AS) outside the core network, so as to provide network open capabilities to AF, or provide information provided by AF to core network elements.

The AUSF authentication server function is used to perform security authentication on terminals when they access the network.

The PCF primarily controls quality of service (QoS) and charging policies. It provides configuration policy information to terminals and provides terminal management and control policy information to network control plane elements (such as AMF and SMF).

The AF primarily communicates application-side requirements to the network and can be considered an application server or an application server proxy. The AF can interact with core network elements to provide services. For example, it can interact with the PCF to control service policies, interact with the NEF to obtain network capability information or provide application information to the network, and provide data network access point information to the PCF to generate routing information for data services.

DN mainly provides business services to users.

Each network element communicates through an interface. For example, the interface between the terminal and AMF is the N1 interface, the interface between the AN and AMF is the N2 interface, the interface between the AN and UPF is the N3 interface, the interface between the SMF and UPF is the N4 interface, and the interface between the UPF and DN is the N6 interface. Some network elements can communicate based on service-based interfaces, among which Nnssf, Nnef, Nnrf, Npcf, Nudm, Naf, Nusf, Namf, Npcf, and Nsf in Figure 1 are service-based service interfaces. Among them, the interface Nsf is only one possible name, and this application does not limit the name of the service-based interface corresponding to the SF.

The above description of the various network elements in the core network and the interfaces between them is merely illustrative and does not constitute any limitation on this application. Furthermore, the various network elements shown in the figure can be understood as network elements used to implement different functions in the core network, for example, they can be combined into network slices as needed. These core network elements can be independent devices or integrated into the same device to implement different functions. This application does not limit the specific form of these network elements.

It can be understood that the network elements used in future communication systems can be the above-mentioned network elements, or can be network elements with other names that have the same or similar functions. This application does not limit this.

In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus for implementing each core network function may be a core network element corresponding to each function; or it may be a device capable of supporting the core network element in implementing its respective function, such as a chip system, hardware circuit, software module, or a combination of hardware circuit and software module. The apparatus may be installed in the core network element or used in conjunction with the core network element. The embodiments of the present application are described using the core network element as an example, and do not limit the embodiments of the present application.

The core network element in this application can be a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, a software function running on general-purpose hardware, or a virtualized device, for example, implemented by general-purpose hardware and instantiated virtualization functions, or by dedicated hardware and instantiated virtualization functions. The general-purpose hardware can be a server, such as a cloud server.

At present, some base stations or terminals in RAN can be used as perception nodes because they have the perception capability brought by electromagnetic waves. The implementation of perception is similar to the principle of radar. That is, the transmitting end (or transmitter, that is, the perception node) transmits electromagnetic waves (that is, perception signals), and the electromagnetic waves are reflected by the object to be perceived and then obtained by the receiving end. The receiving end (or receiver, that is, the perception node) can further process the obtained reflected signal (which can be called perception raw data) to obtain perception data, and the perception data can be used to obtain perception results. "Sending" in this application can refer to sending through an interface between devices (such as an air interface or a communication interface), or it can refer to sending through an interface between components within the same device (such as an interface circuit). For example, "sending" can also be replaced by "output". In addition, "receiving" can refer to receiving through an interface between devices, or it can refer to receiving through an interface between components within the same device. For example, "receiving" can also be replaced by "input".

It can be understood that base stations and terminals are used here as examples of perception nodes. In other examples, perception nodes may also include other forms of network equipment, communication devices or network devices, which are not specifically limited in this application.

For example, when a base station is used as a sensing node, it has the functions shown in Table A and Figure 3. Table A is an example of the sensing capabilities of speed radar, monitoring radar, and imaging radar.

Table A

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a base station performing sensing operations. Figure 3 is an example of integrated sensing and communication (ISAC). The base station shown in Figure 3 can reuse the electromagnetic wave signals of the communication system for sensing. As shown in the figure, the base station's communication and sensing resources can be time-division multiplexed (as shown in Figure 3) or space-division multiplexed. The base station can use electromagnetic wave signals for sensing and detection, and can also receive signals (reflected signals or echo signals) transmitted after reaching obstacles (i.e., detected targets) and obtain sensing data based on the echo signals. As shown in Figure 3, the base station can perform serial-to-parallel conversion, phase-shift keying, inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), parallel-to-serial conversion, and digital-to-analog conversion on the transmitted signals. The base station can also perform analog-to-digital conversion, parallel-to-serial conversion, fast Fourier transform (FFT), serial-to-parallel conversion, and demodulation on the received echo signals. The signal to be transmitted may also be sent to the radar processor, so that the radar processor can obtain sensing data based on the signal to be transmitted and the received echo signal (it should be understood that the echo signal here is the echo signal after the above processing). It should be understood that the processing performed by the base station on the signal to be transmitted and the received echo signal shown in Figure 3 is only an example and should not constitute any limitation to this application.

The sensing nodes in the communication system can sense and identify designated areas, objects, or events, meeting the sensing needs in many areas such as autonomous driving, safety supervision, family health, and weather monitoring. Specific examples are as follows:

1. Autonomous Driving

In V2X and unmanned aerial vehicle (VAU) scenarios, for example, because the perception distance of vehicles or drones is short or non-line of sight (NLOS) paths cannot be perceived, dynamic maps can be generated based on perception data. For example, during the driving of a vehicle or drone, there may be traffic hazards such as the sudden appearance of pedestrians or non-motor vehicles, or pedestrians or non-motor vehicles being in blind spots. Dangerous events can be identified based on perception data and the vehicle or drone can be notified to perform emergency operations. For another example, in vehicle or drone autonomous driving assistance, customized high-precision dynamic maps can be generated based on perception data to assist vehicles or drones in autonomous driving.

2. Safety Supervision

In V2X and drone scenarios, it is possible to identify vehicles or drones driving in violation of regulations based on perception data, such as vehicles occupying emergency lanes or drones leaving their routes, and to issue real-time warnings.

In perimeter security scenarios, based on perception data, it is possible to detect situations such as foreign objects intruding into railway tracks or drones intruding into no-fly zones (such as airports), detect illegal objects, and perform real-time emergency processing.

3. Family Health

For example, abnormal postures can be identified based on perception data, so that falls and other situations can be identified and timely alarms can be issued; for another example, physiological parameters such as human breathing or heartbeat can be obtained through perception data, so that abnormalities can be identified and timely alarms can be issued.

4. Meteorological Monitoring

It can perceive and predict the environment, climate, weather changes, etc.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of parameters that influence perception accuracy and resolution. Using the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) scenario as an example, Figure 4 illustrates several parameters that influence perception KPIs: positioning accuracy (both vertical and horizontal), velocity accuracy (both vertical and horizontal), and resolution (both area and speed).

1. Range resolution α: The ability to distinguish adjacent targets at distance, usually measured as the minimum resolvable distance interval, used to identify different vehicles.

2. Velocity resolution β: the ability to distinguish targets in radial velocity.

3. Angular accuracy θ: The ability of the radar to distinguish adjacent targets in terms of angle, usually measured by the minimum resolvable angle.

4. Horizontal field of view (FOV): The FOV shown in Figure 4 is 120°. Under this 120° FOV, the two-way blind spot range is less than 18 meters when the two-way road width is 30 meters, and the blind spot area ratio is <1%.

Currently, sensing nodes can include terminal devices or base stations (base stations can also be replaced by other devices, such as roadside units (RSUs)). The transmitter of the sensing signal can be a terminal device or a base station, and the receiver of the sensing signal can also be a terminal device or a base station. Accordingly, the sensing service can include the following sensing modes: sensing mode A, the transmitter of the sensing signal is terminal device a, and the receiver of the sensing signal is terminal device b; sensing mode B, the transmitter and receiver of the sensing signal are both terminal device a; sensing mode C, the transmitter of the sensing signal is a terminal device, and the receiver of the sensing signal is a base station; sensing mode D, the transmitter of the sensing signal is base station a, and the receiver of the sensing signal is base station b; sensing mode E, the transmitter and receiver of the sensing signal are both base station a; sensing mode F, the transmitter of the sensing signal is the base station, and the receiver of the sensing signal is the terminal device.

In sensing modes A, B, and C, the transmitter of the sensing signal is the terminal device. In sensing modes D, E, and F, the transmitter of the sensing signal is the base station.

In summary, in sensing services, sensing nodes can perform sensing measurements based on sensing signals to obtain sensing data. The transmitter of the sensing signals can be a terminal device or a base station, without specific limitations. Currently, the selection of the transmitter of the sensing signals needs to be improved to ensure reasonable determination of the transmitter.

For example, the receiving end of the perception signal is able to obtain the location information of the sending end through direct or indirect calculation. The location information of the terminal device is private information. If the terminal device (and its user) does not agree or authorize the location information of the terminal device to be obtained by other devices, there is a risk of privacy leakage if the terminal device is selected as the sending end of the perception signal.

The present application provides a communication method for realizing reasonable determination of the sending end of a perception signal. The execution subject of the communication method may include a perception network element and a terminal device. Among them, the perception device can be used to determine the sending end of the perception signal. For example, the perception network element may be an SF network element. For another example, in an architecture where the SF adopts a control plane-user plane separation, the perception network element may include a SF control plane (SF-control plain, SF-C) network element and/or a SF user plane (SF-user plain, SF-U) network element. In addition, the method can also be applied to other devices that can be used to determine the sending end of the perception signal, such as a perception server, AS, AF, cloud platform or edge platform, etc., without specific limitation. For the convenience of explanation in the following, the perception network element, terminal device or other device may be referred to as a perception device.

In addition, the execution subject of the communication method shown in this application can also be a component such as a functional module, chip or circuit in the perception device, that is, the actions performed by the perception device, perception network element, terminal device or other device below can also be replaced by the component in the corresponding device.

As shown in FIG5 , taking the execution subject as a sensing device as an example, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

S101: A sensing device receives a sensing request, wherein the sensing request is used to request a first sensing service.

The perception request may be used to trigger a first perception service. For example, the perception device may trigger the determination of a transmitter of a perception signal based on a received perception request. If the perception device is a perception network element, the perception device may determine, based on the perception request, a terminal or base station as the transmitter of the perception signal. If the perception device is a terminal device, the terminal device may determine, based on the perception request, whether it can or cannot serve as the transmitter of the perception signal. In other words, the terminal device receiving the perception request may be referred to as the first terminal below.

In the present application, the perception device determines the terminal device as the transmitter of the perception signal according to the perception request. In other words, the perception mode of the first perception service may be: the terminal device serves as the transmitter of the perception signal. Specifically, the perception device may determine the perception mode of the first perception service as the terminal device serves as the transmitter of the perception signal according to the perception request, or the perception device may determine the transmitter of the perception signal according to the perception request, and the transmitter of the perception signal is the terminal device. In this case, the perception device may not determine the transmitter of the perception signal after determining the mode of the first perception service, but directly select a specific node from the nodes allowed to serve as the transmitter of the perception signal to send the perception signal of the first perception service, wherein the nodes allowed to serve as the transmitter of the perception signal include access network devices and/or terminal devices, and the specific node is the terminal device.

For example, the perception request may include an indication of the perception mode (such as indicating that the perception mode is the above-mentioned perception mode A, perception mode B and/or perception mode C) or type information of the sender of the perception signal (such as indicating that the type is a terminal device). For another example, the perception device determines the perception mode to be used based on the business scenario of the first perception service. The business scenario can be intrusion detection, traffic flow detection or gesture recognition, etc. This application does not limit the business scenario and the method of determining the perception mode based on the business scenario.

The perception request may come from a perception requesting device. The perception requesting device may be the initiating device of the perception service, or may come from other network elements related to the perception service, such as NEF. The initiating device of the perception service may be a network device (such as NEF or AF) or a terminal device. It should be noted that when the perception request comes from a terminal device, the perception request may come from an application (APP) on the terminal device.

It can be understood that the perception mode of the first perception service is that the terminal device acts as the transmitter of the perception signal, which can be used as a prerequisite for executing S102. That is, when it is determined that the perception mode of the first perception service is that the terminal device acts as the transmitter of the perception signal, S102 is executed. In other words, if the perception mode of the first perception service is not that the terminal device acts as the transmitter of the perception signal, S102 is ignored or not executed.

S102: The perception device determines, according to the positioning authority of the first terminal and/or the perception role indication of the first terminal, that the first terminal serves as a sender of a perception signal of a first perception service.

In S102, the positioning authority of the first terminal is used to determine whether the location information of the first terminal is allowed to be obtained. In this application, the positioning authority of the terminal can be used to indicate whether the location information of the terminal is allowed or not to be obtained. In other words, the positioning authority of the terminal can be used to determine whether the location information of the terminal is allowed or not to be obtained.

The perception role indication of the first terminal is used to indicate that the first terminal is allowed to serve as a transmitter of a perception signal. In the present application, the perception role indication of the terminal can be used to indicate whether the terminal is allowed or not to serve as a transmitter of a perception signal. In other words, the perception role indication of the terminal can be used to determine whether the terminal is allowed or not to serve as a transmitter of a perception signal.

In the present application, when the positioning authority of the first terminal is used to determine whether the location information of the first terminal is allowed to be obtained, and/or the perception role indication of the first terminal is used to determine whether the first terminal is allowed to be the transmitter of the perception signal, the first terminal can be determined as the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service. That is, the first terminal that allows the location information to be obtained and/or the first terminal that is allowed to be the transmitter of the perception signal is determined as the transmitter of the perception signal. The transmitter of the perception signal thus determined sends the perception signal, and even if the location information of the transmitter is calculated by a malicious perception signal receiver, there will be no privacy leakage problem. That is to avoid the security risks caused by arbitrarily determining the transmitter, for example, using a terminal device that is not allowed to obtain location information as the transmitter of the perception signal, resulting in the malicious perception signal receiver calculating the location information of the terminal device after the transmitter sends the perception signal, resulting in a privacy leakage problem.

Based on S102, the perception device may determine the terminal as a transmitter of the perception signal according to the positioning authority and/or the perception role indication of the terminal device. The transmitter of the perception signal may be used to send a perception signal of a first perception service, and the perception signal may be used to obtain perception data related to the first perception service.

In the present application, the first terminal may be a terminal device that meets the requirements of the first perception service, that is, the first terminal allows or supports the execution of the first perception service. The perception capability of the first terminal can support the first terminal as a transmitter of the perception signal. In addition, the positioning authority of the first terminal is used to determine that the location information of the first terminal is allowed to be obtained, and/or the perception role indication of the first terminal is used to indicate that the first terminal is allowed to be a transmitter of the perception signal. Among them, the present application does not limit the order in which the perception device determines the execution of the following actions: the perception device determines that the first terminal meets the requirements of the first perception service; the perception device determines that the perception capability of the first terminal supports the first terminal as a transmitter of the perception signal; the perception device obtains the positioning authority of the first terminal; the perception device obtains the perception role indication of the first terminal.

As an example, the perception device can perform at least one of the following after determining that the first terminal meets the first perception service requirements: determining that the perception capability of the first terminal supports the first terminal as the sender of the perception signal; obtaining the positioning authority of the first terminal; and obtaining the perception role indication of the first terminal.

In addition, the perception network element may determine multiple terminals (e.g., referred to as second terminals) based on the perception request in S101, and select a first terminal from the multiple second terminals as a transmitter of the perception signal based on the positioning authority and/or perception role indication of the multiple second terminals in S102. The second terminal includes the first terminal, and the first terminal may be one or more terminals.

For another example, when the first terminal serves as a perception device, the first terminal sends the perception signal after determining that it is the sender of the perception signal of the first perception service.

The perception request in this application is explained below.

In S101, the perception request may be sent by the AF to the NEF, and then sent by the NEF to the perception network element.

As a possible embodiment, the perception request sent by the AF to the NEF may include one or more of the AF ID, the service type corresponding to the first perception service, the service requirements, and the area information of the first perception service. Among them, when the first perception service is triggered by the AF, the AF ID can be used to indicate the AF that triggers the first perception service. The perception type can be used to indicate the service type corresponding to (or associated with or belonging to or related to) the perception service. For example, the perception service type corresponding to the first perception service includes services such as intrusion detection or traffic flow monitoring. The service requirements can be used to indicate the requirements of the service corresponding to the first perception service for the perception results, such as one or more requirements for the perception position accuracy, perception speed accuracy, perception resolution, the duration required for perception, etc. The area information of the first perception service can be used to indicate the area that needs to be perceived, such as specific location information or location range.

Among them, the regional information of the first perception service in the perception request may be the operator network external regional information, such as regional information represented by the operator network external identifier such as geographic coordinates. The NEF may determine the operator network internal regional information based on the external identifier, and the regional information in the perception request sent by the NEF to the perception network element may be the operator network internal regional information. The operator network internal regional information is such as regional information represented by the operator network internal regional identifier, for example, the operator network internal regional information includes the AMF identifier, cell identifier or base station identifier, etc., which is used to indicate the area corresponding to the corresponding ID.

Alternatively, the perception request may be generated and sent by the NEF based on the request of the AF. For example, the NEF determines the service request from the AF. The service request may be used to trigger or request a perception service, which may include one or more of the AF ID, the service type corresponding to the first perception service, the service requirements, and the area information of the first perception service.

It should be noted that the AF can send the perception request to the perception network element without sending the perception request through the NEF. For example, in a service-oriented architecture, the AF can send the perception request to the SF through the service-oriented interface.

Optionally, the perception request in S101 may also come from a terminal device, specifically, the perception request may come from the terminal device or an application on the terminal device. In this case, the perception device may specifically be a perception network element or a terminal device.

Prior to S102, the sensing device may obtain positioning authority for the terminal device, where the terminal device may include the first terminal. In this application, the positioning authority for the terminal device may include at least one of feedback from the terminal device's positioning notification, positioning authority subscribed to by the terminal device, or indication information. The following describes feedback from the terminal device's positioning notification, positioning authority subscribed to by the terminal device, and indication information, as well as the manner in which the sensing device obtains the positioning authority.

(1) Feedback on positioning notifications

The feedback of the positioning notification can be used to indicate (or determine or express) consent or disapproval of the location information being obtained. If the feedback of the positioning notification is used to indicate consent to the location information being obtained, the feedback of the positioning notification can be used to determine that the location information of the first terminal is permitted to be obtained. If the feedback of the positioning notification is used to indicate disapproval of the location information being obtained, the feedback of the positioning notification can be used to determine that the location information of the first terminal is not permitted to be obtained.

The positioning notification may be used to request the terminal device or the user of the terminal device to respond to whether or not to agree to the acquisition of the location information. In other words, the feedback may be made by the terminal device or the user of the terminal device.

Taking the case where the perception device is a perception network element as an example, the perception network element can send a positioning notification to the terminal device, and the perception network element can also determine the feedback of the positioning notification based on the first response message of the received positioning notification. Among them, the first response message can be used to indicate (or determine or express): the first terminal or the user of the first terminal replies to agree to obtain the location information, the first terminal or the user of the first terminal replies to disagree to obtain the location information, the user has no operation feedback, or the first terminal does not reply to the positioning notification. Optionally, the first response message can come from the terminal device, or can come from an intermediate network element (such as AMF), which can be used to communicate between the terminal device and the perception network element. If the first response message indicates that the first terminal or the user of the first terminal agrees to the location information being obtained, the feedback of the positioning notification can be used to indicate the consent to the location information being obtained; if the first response message indicates that the first terminal or the user of the first terminal disagrees to the location information being obtained, the feedback of the positioning notification can be used to indicate the disagreement to the location information being obtained.

In addition, according to the contracted positioning authority of the terminal device (such as the third contracted positioning information below), when the first response message indicates that the user has no operational feedback, or the first terminal does not reply to the positioning notification, the perception device can determine whether the user agrees or disagrees with the location information being obtained. For example, in the case where the location information of the terminal device is not allowed to be obtained without consent, such as the third contracted positioning information indicates that the terminal device does not need to feedback consent, or the third contracted positioning information further indicates that the location information of the terminal device is not allowed to be obtained when the user has no operational feedback, if the first response message indicates that the user has no operational feedback, the feedback of the positioning notification can be used to indicate disagreement with the location information being obtained. It can also be assumed that the location information of the terminal device is not allowed to be obtained when the terminal device does not reply to the positioning notification. At this time, the decision of the perception device does not need to refer to the third contracted positioning information. In the case where the location information of the terminal device is allowed to be obtained without consent, such as the third contracted positioning information indicates that the terminal device needs to feedback consent, or the third contracted positioning information further indicates that the location information of the terminal device is allowed to be obtained when the user has no operational feedback, if the first response message indicates that the user has no operational feedback, the feedback of the positioning notification can be used to indicate consent to the location information being obtained. Among them, whether the location information of the terminal device is allowed or not to be obtained without consent can be determined according to the contracted positioning authority of the terminal device. Please refer to the description of the third contracted positioning information below.

In addition, if the perception network element does not receive a first response message within a certain time period (such as a predetermined, set or configured first time period) after sending the positioning notification, the perception network element may determine that the feedback of the positioning notification is used to indicate that the location information is not agreed to be obtained. Alternatively, when the perception network element sends a positioning notification to the terminal device through other intermediate network elements such as AMF, if the intermediate network element does not receive a response message (such as a second response message) from the terminal device within a certain time period after sending the positioning notification to the terminal device, the intermediate network element may send a first response message to the perception network element to indicate that the first terminal has not replied to the positioning notification. At this time, the perception network element may determine that it does not agree to the location information being obtained based on the feedback of the positioning notification that the terminal device has not responded.

Among them, the terminal device requests the user to reply to agree or disagree with the acquisition of location information, or the terminal device obtains the second response message in a manner, for example: the terminal device triggers a feedback request for the positioning notification based on the received positioning notification. Among them, the feedback request for the positioning notification is used to request the user to reply to agree or disagree with the acquisition of location information. The terminal device can also send a second response message based on the user's operational feedback on the feedback request for the positioning notification, or based on the user's lack of operational feedback. The second response message can indicate (or determine or indicate): the terminal device or the user of the terminal device replies to agree to the acquisition of location information, disagree to the acquisition of location information, or the user has no operational feedback. Among them, if the user has no operational feedback within a certain time period (such as a predetermined, set or configured second time period), the second response message can indicate that the user has no operational feedback, and accordingly, the first response message can indicate that the user has no operational feedback.

For example, triggering a feedback request for a location notification can involve a terminal device triggering the operating system (OS) to display (e.g., display or play a voice message) the location notification feedback request to the user. The OS can also detect user operations through human-machine interaction (HMI), obtain operational feedback, and indicate the user's operational feedback to the terminal device via a location privacy indication (LPI). For example, operational feedback can include a user's response indicating consent for location information to be obtained, a user's response indicating disagreement, or no operational feedback from the user. The terminal device can send a second response message based on the operational feedback or based on the lack of operational feedback within a certain period of time. The operating system can trigger the display screen to display text or images, or trigger the speakers or headphones to play a voice message. The text or voice message can be used to request the user to respond with consent or disagreement for location information to be obtained. Optionally, the user can provide operational feedback through the display screen or microphone, etc., to indicate consent or disagreement. The operational feedback indicating consent can be different from the operational feedback indicating disagreement. In addition, if the operating system does not obtain the user's operation feedback after a period of time, the operating system sends the operation feedback to the terminal device to indicate that the user has not responded. The operating system of the terminal device can detect the user's operation feedback and indicate the operation feedback to the terminal device.

For example, when the terminal device displays the text corresponding to the feedback request of the positioning notification to the user through the display screen, the operational feedback made by the user to indicate that the location information is obtained is, for example, the user triggering an operation (such as clicking, touching or long pressing) on a virtual button indicating consent through the display screen; the operational feedback made by the user to indicate that the location information of the terminal device is obtained is, for example, the user triggering an operation on a virtual button indicating consent through the display screen. When the voice corresponding to the positioning notification is played to the user through the microphone, the operational feedback made by the user to indicate that the location information of the terminal device is obtained is, for example, the user replying with "agree" or other statements indicating consent through voice; the operational feedback made by the user to indicate that the location information of the terminal device is obtained is, for example, the user replying with "disagree" or other statements indicating disagreement through voice.

In addition, if the sensing device is a terminal device, the terminal device can trigger a positioning notification and obtain feedback on the positioning notification. The triggering method of the positioning notification and the method of obtaining the response message can be found in the example of the feedback request for triggering the positioning notification, and the repeated parts will not be repeated here. For example, the terminal device can trigger a positioning notification and obtain the user's operational feedback on the positioning notification through the operating system, and further determine the feedback on the positioning notification based on the operational feedback. For example, the operational feedback may include: the user's reply agreeing to obtain the location information, disagreeing to obtain the location information, or the user having no operational feedback. If the operational feedback is the user's reply agreeing to obtain the location information, the feedback of the positioning notification can be used to indicate consent to the acquisition of the location information; if the operational feedback is the user's reply disagreeing to obtain the location information, the feedback of the positioning notification can be used to indicate disagreement to the acquisition of the location information.

In addition, based on the contracted positioning permissions of the terminal device (such as the third contracted positioning information below), if the operation feedback is that the user has no operation feedback, the sensing device can determine whether the user agrees or disagrees with the location information being obtained. In the case where the location information of the terminal device is not allowed to be obtained without consent, if the third contracted positioning information indicates that the terminal device does not need to feedback consent, or the third contracted positioning information further indicates that the location information of the terminal device is not allowed to be obtained when the user has no operation feedback, if the operation feedback is that the user has no operation feedback, the feedback of the positioning notification can be used to indicate that the location information is not allowed to be obtained. It can also be assumed that the location information of the terminal device is not allowed to be obtained when the user has no operation feedback. In this case, the decision of the sensing device does not need to refer to the third contracted positioning information. In the case where the location information of the terminal device is allowed to be obtained without consent, if the third contracted positioning information indicates that the terminal device needs to feedback consent, or the third contracted positioning information further indicates that the location information of the terminal device is allowed to be obtained when the user has no operation feedback, if the operation feedback is that the user has no operation feedback, the feedback of the positioning notification can be used to indicate that the location information is allowed to be obtained ...

It can be understood that the response message of the positioning notification (including the first response message or the second response message) and the feedback of the positioning notification may also be the same information or message, or the field in the response message of the positioning notification used to indicate consent to the acquisition of the location information and the field in the feedback of the positioning notification used to indicate consent to the acquisition of the location information may be the same field or may be different fields, or the field in the response message of the positioning notification used to indicate disagreement with the acquisition of the location information and the field in the feedback of the positioning notification used to indicate disagreement with the acquisition of the location information may be the same field or may be different fields.

As an example, the field in the positioning notification response message used to indicate whether the location information is agreed or not may include a bit. When the value of this bit is 0 (or 1), it indicates that the location information is not agreed to be obtained. When the value of this bit is 1 (or 0), it indicates that the location information is agreed to be obtained. As another example, the positioning notification response message may carry a status value of "true" or "false", where "true" indicates that the location information is agreed to be obtained and "false" indicates that the location information is not agreed to be obtained.

As an example, when the sensing device is a sensing network element, the sensing network element obtains feedback on the positioning notification by, for example, sending the positioning notification to the terminal device via the AMF. That is, the AMF can act as an intermediate network element. The terminal device triggers a positioning notification feedback request based on the positioning notification. The terminal device may determine a second response message based on user operational feedback or based on the user's lack of operational feedback within a certain period of time, and send the second response message to the AMF regarding the positioning notification. If the user replies that they agree to have their location information obtained, the second response message may indicate that the user has replied that they agree to have their location information obtained. If the user replies that they disagree, the second response message may indicate that the user disagrees. If the user does not provide operational feedback within a certain period of time, the second response message may indicate that the user has not provided operational feedback. The AMF may send a first response message to the sensing network element based on the second response message or based on the failure to receive the second response message within a certain period of time. The first and second response messages can be described in this application, and any repetitions will not be repeated.

Optionally, the perception network element can obtain the identifier of the AMF to which the terminal device belongs, such as the AMF ID, based on the terminal device's perception capability reporting process, so as to send a positioning notification to the terminal device based on the AMF identifier. During the perception capability reporting process, the terminal device can report its perception capabilities to the perception network element through the AMF. The perception capabilities can be used to indicate whether the terminal device supports perception or not.

In addition, the response message of the positioning notification can be sent by the terminal device to the perception network element through the AMF, that is, the AMF can send the second response message to the perception network element without processing the second response message. That is, the first response message can include the second response message.

(2) Positioning permissions signed by the terminal device

The location permission contracted by the terminal device belongs to the contract information of the terminal device and can be used to determine whether the terminal device allows or does not allow it to be located, or in other words, to determine whether the location information of the terminal device is allowed or not to be obtained. The location permission contracted by the terminal device can be part of the contract information of the terminal device stored in the core network. The contract information of the terminal device can be stored in the data management function network element of the network. Among them, the data management function network element is, for example, UDM, UDR or NRF.

Optionally, the location permission contracted by the terminal device can be a terminal privacy profile. This privacy profile can reuse the privacy profile of the location services (LCS) or be a perception-specific privacy profile.

In a possible embodiment, the location authority subscribed by the terminal device may include one or more of the following information:

(a) Information used to indicate whether the location information of the terminal device is allowed or not to be obtained, which may be referred to as the first contract positioning information below.

The first contracted positioning information can be used to determine whether the location information of the terminal device is allowed or not to be obtained in the perception service or perception process. If the first contracted positioning information indicates that the location information is allowed to be obtained, the terminal device can serve as the sender of the perception signal. In this application, the first contracted positioning information of the first terminal can indicate that the location information of the first terminal is allowed to be obtained in the perception service or perception process.

(b) Information used to indicate whether or not to notify the terminal device when obtaining the location information of the terminal device, which may be referred to as the second contract positioning information below.

Among them, if the second contract positioning information indicates that the terminal device needs to be notified, the terminal device needs to be notified when the location information of the terminal device is obtained. For example, when the terminal device is used as the sender of the perception signal, it is necessary to notify the terminal device that it is determined as the sender of the perception signal, but the terminal device does not need to reply to a response message indicating consent. For example, before the perception device is determined as the sender of the perception signal, it does not need to send a positioning notification to the terminal device. It only needs to send a perception role notification to the perception device after determining the terminal device as the sender of the perception signal, to notify the terminal device as the sender of the perception device.

If the second contract positioning information indicates that the terminal device does not need to be notified, the terminal device does not need to be notified when the location information of the terminal device is obtained. For example, when the terminal device is used as the sender of the perception signal, it is not necessary to notify the terminal device that it is determined as the sender of the perception signal. For example, the perception device does not need to send a positioning notification to the terminal device before determining the terminal device as the sender of the perception signal. In addition, after determining the terminal device as the sender of the perception signal, it is not necessary to send a perception role notification to the perception device.

(c) Information used to indicate whether or not the terminal device needs to provide feedback and consent when obtaining the terminal device's location information, hereinafter referred to as the third contract positioning information.

Among them, if the third contract positioning information indicates that the terminal device needs to feedback consent, the consent of the terminal device is required when obtaining the location information of the terminal device. Therefore, if the third contract positioning information indicates that the terminal device needs to feedback consent, before determining the terminal device as the sender of the perception signal, the perception network element can send a positioning notification to the terminal device to request confirmation whether the location information of the terminal device is allowed or not to be obtained. The perception network element can receive a response message from the terminal device, and the response message can be used to indicate that the terminal device agrees to the location information being obtained. In the case where the perception network element receives a response message from the terminal device indicating that it does not agree to obtain the location information, the terminal device is not allowed to be determined as the sender of the perception signal.

In addition, if the third contract positioning information indicates that the terminal device does not need to feedback consent, then the terminal device's consent is not required when obtaining the terminal device's location information. Therefore, before determining the terminal device as the sender of the perception signal, it is not necessary to send a positioning notification to the terminal device and require the terminal device to reply with a response message to indicate consent to obtain the terminal device's location information. Alternatively, the perception network element can also send a positioning notification to the terminal device, but does not need to wait for or receive a response message from the terminal device.

Optionally, the third contract positioning information may also indicate whether the location information of the terminal device is allowed or not to be obtained when the user has no operational feedback and/or the terminal device has not responded to the positioning notification (or feedback request for the positioning notification). For example, the third contract positioning information may indicate that the location information of the terminal device is not allowed to be obtained when the perception network element has not received a response message from the terminal device indicating consent to obtain the location information. In this case, when the user has no operational feedback and/or has not received a response message from the terminal device indicating consent to obtain the location information, the terminal device is not allowed to be determined as the sender of the perception signal. In the case where the perception network element sends a positioning notification to the terminal device through an intermediate network element, the intermediate network element may determine to send a response message or feedback message to the perception network element based on the failure to obtain a reply message from the terminal device. The response message or feedback message is used to indicate that the terminal device has not responded to the positioning notification.

(d) Location information

The location information can be used to indicate the location or area to which the positioning authority contracted by the terminal applies. The same terminal can sign contracts for different positioning authorities in different locations or areas. Specifically, when the terminal device is in different locations or areas, at least one of the first contracted positioning information, the second contracted positioning information, or the third contracted positioning information in the positioning authority contracted by the terminal device may be different. For example, the first contracted information of the terminal device in area A indicates that the location information of the terminal device is allowed to be obtained, and the first contracted information of the terminal device in area B indicates that the location information of the terminal device is not allowed to be obtained.

Accordingly, if the positioning authority subscribed to by the first terminal includes location information, then in S102, the perception device can determine whether the first terminal is allowed or not to obtain the location information when in that location based on the location information and the location information of the first terminal. For example, if the first terminal is located in area A, and the first subscription information corresponding to area A indicates that the location information of the terminal device is allowed to be obtained, then the first terminal can serve as the sender of the perception signal of the first perception service.

(e) Time information

The location information can be used to indicate the time or time range in which the positioning authority contracted by the terminal is applicable. The same terminal can sign contracts for different positioning authorities at different times or time ranges. Specifically, when the terminal device is at different times or time ranges, at least one of the first contracted positioning information, the second contracted positioning information, or the third contracted positioning information in the positioning authority contracted by the terminal device may be different. For example, the first contracted information of the terminal device at time A indicates that the location information of the terminal device is allowed to be obtained, and the first contracted information of the terminal device at time B indicates that the location information of the terminal device is not allowed to be obtained.

Correspondingly, if the positioning authority subscribed by the first terminal includes time information, then in S102, the perception device can determine whether the first terminal is allowed or not to obtain the location information when it is at that location based on the time information and the time information of the perception request. The time information of the perception request may indicate one or more of the sending time of the perception request, the time information (time or time range) indicated in the perception request, or the sending time of the perception signal. For example, the positioning authority subscribed by the first terminal includes time information, and the time corresponding to the time information of the perception request is included in the time range indicated by the time information included in the positioning authority subscribed by the first terminal, and the first contract information corresponding to the time information indicates that the location information of the terminal device is allowed to be obtained, then the first terminal can serve as the sender of the perception signal of the first perception service.

Table B shows an example of the positioning authority signed by the above terminal device.

Table B

In one possible embodiment, a perception device, such as a perception network element, may obtain the location permission subscribed by the terminal device from the data management function network element. For example, the perception network element may send an identifier of the terminal device to the data management function network element. The data management function network element queries the location permission subscribed by the terminal device in response to the identifier of the terminal device and sends the location permission subscribed by the terminal device to the perception network element. In this application, the identifier of the terminal device is, for example, a user subscription permanent identifier (SUPI) of the terminal device.

Among them, the perception network element can send the identifiers of multiple terminal devices to the data management function network element, such as sending a list containing the identifiers of multiple terminals. Among them, the multiple terminals can be alternative terminals for the sender of the perception signal of the first perception service, and the multiple terminals can include the first terminal. Optionally, the data management function network element can feedback the positioning rights signed by multiple terminals to the perception network element through a message or signaling to save signaling overhead. In this case, the data management function network element can determine the order of the feedback positioning rights signed by the multiple terminals according to the order of the identifiers of the multiple terminal devices from the perception network element, and can also send the identifier of each terminal device and the signed positioning line to the perception network element in the form of a corresponding relationship.

In another possible embodiment, the location authority subscribed by the terminal device may also be stored or configured in the perception network element. For example, after the terminal device signs the contract, the UDM provides the location authority subscribed by the terminal device to the SF. The SF may save the location authority subscribed by the terminal device locally. Then, after the SF receives the perception request, the SF may obtain the location authority subscribed by the terminal device from the local storage.

(3) Indication information, which indicates whether the location information of the terminal device is allowed or not to be obtained.

The indication information may be determined based on feedback from the positioning notification of the terminal device and/or the contracted positioning authority, for example, an identifier or field for indicating whether the location information of the terminal device is allowed or not to be obtained.

The feedback of the terminal device's positioning notification and its acquisition method, as well as the positioning authority contracted by the terminal device and its acquisition method can be referred to the description in this application and will not be repeated here.

As an example, if the feedback of the positioning notification of the terminal device and the positioning authority subscribed by the terminal device are both used to indicate or determine that the location information of the terminal device is allowed to be obtained, that is, the terminal device is allowed to be located, then the indication information can be used to indicate that the location information of the terminal device is allowed to be obtained. In addition, if one or more of the feedback of the positioning notification of the terminal device and the positioning authority subscribed by the terminal device are used to indicate or determine that the location information of the terminal device is not allowed to be obtained, then the indication information can be used to indicate that the location information of the terminal device is not allowed to be obtained.

In addition, if the feedback of the positioning notification indicates that the user has no operation feedback or the terminal device has not responded to the positioning notification, the perception device can determine the indication information based on the positioning authority signed by the terminal device, that is, determine whether the location information of the terminal device is allowed or not to be obtained based on the positioning authority signed by the terminal device.

In this application, the sensing device may determine the indication information based on the feedback of the terminal device's positioning notification and/or the contracted positioning authority before or after receiving the sensing request. That is, this application does not limit the order between the time when the sensing device receives the sensing request and the time when the indication information is determined based on the feedback of the terminal device's positioning notification and/or the contracted positioning authority.

Among them, the perception device can determine the indication information based on the feedback of the positioning notification of the terminal device and/or the contracted positioning authority before receiving the perception request in S101. Therefore, after receiving the perception request in S101, the perception device can determine whether the location information of the terminal device is allowed or not to be obtained based on the indication information. For example, the perception device can trigger the determination of the indication information based on the registration request of the terminal device, and store the indication information in the perception device, such as storing the correspondence between the identifier of the terminal device and the indication information; for another example, the perception device can trigger the determination of the indication information based on the perception capability of the acquired terminal device, and store the indication information in the perception device, such as storing the correspondence between the identifier of the terminal device and the indication information. Therefore, the perception device can store the indication information without having to store the complete feedback of the positioning notification of the terminal device and/or the contracted positioning authority, saving storage space and supporting more efficient determination of positioning authority.

Optionally, the perception network element may continue to store the indication information after the terminal de-registers from the network, thereby eliminating the need to repeatedly trigger the determination of the indication information when the terminal re-registers or when the perception network element re-acquires the perception capabilities of the terminal, thereby saving processing resources of the perception network element. In this case, the perception network element may determine whether the indication information of the terminal device is locally stored or not when the terminal registers or when the perception capabilities of the terminal are acquired, and trigger the determination of the indication information if the indication information of the terminal device is not locally stored.

In one possible implementation, when storing the indication information of a terminal device, the perception network element may store the correspondence between the identifier of the AMF to which the terminal device belongs and the indication information. For example, the correspondence between the terminal device identifier (such as SUPI), the AMF ID, and the indication information may be stored. This allows the AMF ID to be used to query the AMF to which the terminal device belongs when a positioning notification needs to be sent to the terminal device. The AMF referred to by the terminal may specifically be the AMF serving the terminal device, such as the serving AMF. The perception network element may obtain the AMF ID during the process of the terminal device reporting its perception capabilities. Alternatively, the perception network element may obtain the identifier of the AMF to which the terminal device belongs from the data management function network element. For example, the data management function network element may query the AMF to which the terminal device belongs based on the identifier of the terminal device provided by the perception network element and provide the AMF ID to the perception network element. Accordingly, the perception network element may obtain the AMF ID to which the terminal device belongs from the data management function network element. Among them, the data management function network element can query the terminal's contracted positioning authority and AMF ID based on the terminal device's identification, and provide the terminal device's contracted positioning authority and AMF ID to the perception network element through the same message.

Optionally, if multiple terminal devices belong to the same AMF, the perception network element can send a positioning notification to the AMF through the same message and carry the identifiers of multiple terminal devices to save signaling overhead. The AMF can send positioning notifications to multiple terminal devices based on the perception notification and the identifiers of multiple terminal devices, and receive response messages sent by the terminal devices.

Taking the case where the sensing device is a sensing network element as an example, the sensing network element can obtain the terminal device's feedback on the positioning notification and/or the positioning authority subscribed by the terminal device after receiving the terminal device's registration request or receiving the terminal device's sensing capability, and determine the indication information based on the terminal device's feedback on the positioning notification and/or the positioning authority subscribed by the terminal device. After receiving the sensing request, the sensing network element can determine whether the terminal device can serve as the sender of the sensing signal based on the indication information.

Before S102 , the perception device may obtain the perception role indication of the terminal device.

If the sensing device is a sensing network element, the sensing device may obtain the sensing role indication from the terminal device. For example, the terminal device may report the sensing role indication to the network via a registration request or a sensing capability reporting-related message. Alternatively, the sensing network element may request the terminal device to report the sensing role indication based on the sensing request in S101, and the terminal device may provide the sensing role indication based on the request of the sensing network element. In addition, if the sensing device is a terminal device, the terminal device may determine the sensing role indication based on the user's feedback on the terminal device's sensing role request. Optionally, the sensing role indication may also be determined based on sensing capability information.

In the present application, the terminal device may determine the perception role indication based on the user's feedback on the perception role request of the terminal device. The perception role request may be used to request the user to reply to agree or disagree to be the sender of the perception signal. Taking the first terminal as an example, if the user's operation feedback of the first terminal indicates agreement to be the sender of the perception signal, the perception role indication may indicate that the first terminal is allowed to be the sender of the perception signal. If the user's operation feedback indicates disagreement to be the sender of the perception signal, or the user does not reply to agree to be the sender of the perception signal within the second time period, the perception role indication may indicate that the first terminal is allowed to be the sender of the perception signal. In the present application, the first time period and the second time period may be the same or different, and there is no specific restriction.

For example, the terminal device can trigger or display (such as display or voice playback) a perception role request to the user through the operating system. The perception role request can be used to request the user to reply to agree or disagree as the sender of the perception signal. After triggering the perception role request, the terminal device can also detect the user's operation feedback and determine whether the user agrees or disagrees with the terminal device as the sender of the perception signal based on the operation feedback. The way in which the terminal device displays the perception role indication to the user and the way in which the user provides operation feedback can refer to the implementation method of the terminal device triggering the positioning notification, and will not be repeated here.

Optionally, the sensing capability information of the terminal device may include a sensing signal transmission capability and/or a sensing signal reception capability. The sensing signal transmission capability may include a capability related to the transmission of a sensing signal, and the sensing signal reception capability may include a capability related to the reception and/or measurement of a sensing signal.

The terminal device may determine whether it supports being a transmitter of a perception signal based on the perception capability information, and determine one or more of a perception signal transmission capability and a perception signal reception capability based on whether it supports being a transmitter of a perception signal. For example, the perception capability information may include capability information indicating whether the terminal device supports being a transmitter of a perception signal. Alternatively, based on whether the perception capability information of the terminal device includes a perception signal transmission capability, it may be determined whether the terminal device supports being a transmitter of a perception signal. For example, if the perception capability information of the terminal device includes perception signal transmission capability information, the terminal device supports being a transmitter of a perception signal.

If the perception role of the terminal device indicates that the terminal device does not agree to act as a sender of the perception signal, the capability information reported by the terminal device to the perception network element may only include the perception signal receiving capability. If the perception role of the terminal device indicates that the terminal device agrees to act as a sender of the perception signal, the capability information reported by the terminal device to the perception network element may include the perception signal sending capability and the perception signal receiving capability. In this case, the capability information reported by the terminal device to the perception network element can be understood as an indication of the perception role of the terminal device, that is, the perception network element can determine whether the terminal supports or does not support acting as a sender of the perception signal based on the capability information reported by the terminal device to the perception network element.

In addition, if the perception capability of the terminal device does not distinguish between the perception signal sending capability and the perception signal receiving capability, and the perception role of the terminal device indicates that the terminal device is not allowed to be a transmitter of the perception signal, then the terminal device can report the perception capability and the perception role indication to indicate that the terminal device supports but is not allowed to be a transmitter of the perception signal. That is to say, at this time, the perception role indication can be used to indicate that the terminal device only acts as a transmitter of the perception signal, and/or, to indicate that the terminal device does not act as a transmitter of the perception signal. If the perception role of the terminal device indicates that the terminal device is allowed to be a transmitter of the perception signal, then the terminal device can report the perception capability, and at this time the network can default to the terminal device supporting and allowing it to be a transmitter of the perception signal.

In a possible embodiment, the perception device can determine whether the terminal device supports being a transmitter of a perception signal based on the perception capability information of the terminal device, that is, determine whether the terminal device has the ability to be a transmitter of a perception signal. In the process of determining the first terminal as the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service, the perception device can determine that the first terminal supports being a transmitter of the perception signal. For example, the perception device can use the support of the terminal device (such as including the first terminal) as a transmitter of the perception signal as a condition for triggering the execution of the method shown in this application, or as a condition for triggering the acquisition of the positioning authority signed by the terminal device, or as a condition for triggering the acquisition of the feedback of the positioning notification in this application. That is, the perception device can execute the method shown in this application when it is known that the terminal device supports being a transmitter of the perception signal, to verify whether the terminal device is allowed or not to be a transmitter of the perception signal.

In one embodiment, the terminal device may trigger the sending of a perception role request based on a perception request. For example, when the terminal device determines itself as the sender of the perception signal based on the perception request, the terminal device may send the above-mentioned perception role request. In another embodiment, the terminal device may trigger the sending of a perception request according to certain configuration rules. For example, the terminal device may trigger the sending of a perception role request according to a certain period and/or when certain conditions are met. As an example, the condition for the terminal device to trigger the perception role request is, for example, that the terminal device is about to send a registration request (such as a registration request for the first registration).

In various embodiments of the present application, the perception device can obtain one or more of the above positioning permissions, and/or obtain the perception role indication of the terminal device, and realize reasonable determination of the sending end based on the positioning permission and/or perception role indication.

In a possible embodiment, the perception device can obtain the positioning authority and/or perception role indication signed by multiple terminal devices (such as second terminals), and determine one or more terminal devices that are allowed to serve as transmitters of perception signals based on the positioning authority and/or perception role indication signed by the terminal devices, such as determining a list of terminal devices that are allowed to serve as transmitters of perception signals, and determining the first terminal from the one or more terminal devices that are allowed to serve as transmitters of perception signals. The positioning authority of the first terminal is used to determine or indicate that the location information of the first terminal is allowed to be obtained, and/or the perception role indication of the first terminal is used to indicate that the first terminal is allowed to serve as the transmitter of the perception signal.

Among them, if the positioning authority signed by the terminal device includes location information and/or time information, then when determining whether the terminal device is allowed or not to serve as the sender of the perception signal, the location of the terminal device and/or the time information of the perception request can be considered, and reference can be made to the description in this application.

The identifiers of the multiple terminal devices may be included in the perception request. Alternatively, the multiple terminal devices may be terminal devices that can serve as perception nodes for the first perception service or senders of perception signals according to the perception request. For example, the multiple terminal devices may include candidate terminals for senders of perception signals for the first perception service.

In another possible embodiment, the perception device can select a terminal device from a list of multiple terminal devices and obtain the positioning authority and/or perception role indication signed by the terminal device. The perception device determines that the location information of the terminal device is allowed to be obtained based on the positioning authority signed by the terminal device, and/or selects the terminal device as the perception signal transmitter when it is determined that the terminal device is allowed to serve as the perception signal transmitter based on the perception role indication. When it is determined that the location information of the terminal device is allowed to be obtained or the terminal device is not allowed to serve as the perception signal transmitter, other terminal devices are selected, and the above operations are repeated until the perception signal transmitter is selected.

Among them, if the positioning authority signed by the terminal device includes location information and/or time information, then when determining whether the terminal device is allowed or not to serve as the sender of the perception signal, the location of the terminal device and/or the time information of the perception request can be considered, and reference can be made to the description in this application.

The following is a flow chart illustrating the method provided in the embodiments of the present application. It is understood that the process shown below can be combined with the possible implementation of the method of the present application or the description of the embodiment section to implement the method. The following process can be used as an example of the implementation method of the present application, rather than as a limitation of the implementation process of the present application.

Figure 6 shows an example of a process when the method of Figure 5 is implemented by a perception network element. In Figure 6, the perception network element is an SF as an example. Depending on the requirements of the implementation scenario, the SF can also be replaced with other network elements or devices, such as a perception server, without specific limitation.

As shown in Figure 6, the process may include the following steps:

S201: SF receives a sensing request, where the sensing request may come from an initiator of a sensing service.

The perception request is used to request a first perception service.

The SF may determine, based on the perception request, that the mode of the first perception service is that the terminal device is the transmitter of the perception signal. Alternatively, the SF may determine, based on the perception request, the transmitter of the perception signal, which is the terminal device. In this case, the SF may not determine the transmitter of the perception signal after determining the mode of the first perception service, but may directly select a specific node from the nodes allowed to be the transmitters of the perception signal to send the perception signal of the first perception service, wherein the nodes allowed to be the transmitters of the perception signal include access network devices and/or terminal devices, and the specific node is the terminal device. For example, the perception request may include mode information of the perception service requirement, or the perception service requirement in the perception request may be used to determine the perception mode.

The SF may determine one or more candidate terminal devices for sending the perception signal based on the perception request, i.e., obtain the one or more terminal devices or obtain the identifiers of the one or more terminal devices. For example, the perception request includes service requirements, such as the perception range, and the service requirements may be used to determine the one or more candidate terminal devices.

It can be understood that S201 can be used as an exemplary implementation of step S101 in the process of FIG. 5 .

Based on the perception request, the SF may be triggered to execute S202 and/or S203. For example, if the SF determines that the perception mode is for the terminal device to be the sender of the perception signal based on the perception request, the SF triggers the execution of S202 and/or S203. For another example, the SF may determine the sender of the perception signal based on the perception request, and if the sender of the perception signal is the terminal device, the SF triggers the execution of S202 and/or S203. In addition, the SF may also query the terminal device's contracted positioning authority and/or positioning notification feedback based on local storage.

S202: SF obtains the location authority subscribed by the terminal device from UDM.

Among them, UDM can be used as an example of the data management function network element shown in this application.

With reference to the description of the manner in which the perception device obtains the contracted positioning authority of the terminal device from the data management function network element in this application, in S202, the SF may send the identifier of the terminal device to the UDM, and receive the contracted positioning authority of the terminal device from the UDM. The identifier of the terminal device may be carried in the request for obtaining the contracted positioning authority. For example, as shown in FIG7 , the SF may send a terminal identifier list to the UDM, which includes the identifiers of one or more terminal devices, such as the SUPI of one or more terminal devices. After receiving the terminal identifier list, the UDM obtains the contract information of the terminal device according to the identifier of the terminal device, including the contracted positioning authority of the terminal. The UDM may also send the contracted positioning authority of the terminal device to the SF. The contracted positioning authority of the terminal device may be carried in the acquisition reply of the contracted positioning authority.

Among them, if there are multiple terminal devices, UDM can send the positioning permissions signed by multiple terminal devices to SF through the same list or message.

Optionally, the location permissions subscribed by one or more terminal devices may also be stored or configured in the SF. In this case, the SF may obtain the location permissions of the one or more terminals locally.

S203: The SF obtains feedback on the positioning notification. The positioning notification is used to request the terminal device user to respond with a response, either agreeing or disagreeing with the acquisition of location information. The feedback on the positioning notification can be used to describe the feedback result of the terminal device in response to the positioning notification, specifically including agreeing to the acquisition of location information, disagreeing to the acquisition of location information, or no response from the terminal device.

Among them, the terminal device can be one or more alternative terminal devices determined by SF based on the perception request.

Referring to the description of the feedback method of the positioning notification obtained by the perception device in this application, in S203, the SF can send a positioning notification to the terminal device and obtain feedback on the positioning notification.

As shown in Figure 8 , the SF may send a message carrying a location notification of the terminal device to the AMF. Optionally, the message may also carry the terminal device's identifier. The AMF may send the location notification to the terminal device based on the terminal device's identifier. Based on the location notification, the terminal device may trigger a feedback request for the location notification, requesting the user to respond with consent or disapproval for obtaining location information. The operating system may detect the user's operational feedback and provide the user's operational feedback to the terminal device. The terminal device may determine a second response message for the location notification based on the user's operational feedback and send the second response message to the AMF. The second response message may indicate whether the terminal device agrees or disagrees with obtaining location information. The AMF may receive the second response message for the location notification sent by the terminal device and, based on the second response message, send a first response message for the location notification to the SF. The SF may determine feedback for the location notification based on the first response message. As described in this application, the first response message may indicate whether the first terminal or the user of the first terminal has responded with consent for obtaining location information, whether the first terminal or the user of the first terminal has responded with disapproval, whether the user has not responded with any operational feedback, or whether the first terminal has not responded to the location notification. The second response message may indicate whether the user has responded with consent for obtaining location information, whether the user has responded with disapproval, or whether the user has not responded with any operational feedback.

It can be understood that the determination method between the operation feedback, the second response message, the first response message and the feedback of the positioning notification in Figure 8 can refer to the corresponding description in the embodiment of the present application, and will not be repeated here.

It is understood that if multiple terminal devices belong to the same AMF, the SF can send a positioning notification and the identifiers of multiple terminal devices to the AMF through a single signaling or message, and the AMF can send positioning notifications to multiple terminal devices based on the identifiers of multiple terminal devices. Correspondingly, the AMF can also send feedback on positioning notifications of multiple terminal devices to the SF through the same signaling or message. In this case, the AMF can send the feedback on positioning notifications of multiple terminal devices and the corresponding relationship between the SUPIs of multiple devices to the SF.

In one possible implementation, S203 may be performed based on S202. For example, the SF obtains the location permission subscribed by the terminal device based on S202, where, if the location permission subscribed by the terminal device includes information indicating that the terminal device needs to provide feedback of consent when obtaining the location information of the terminal device, and information indicating that feedback of a location notification is required when obtaining the location information of the terminal device, the SF triggers S203 to obtain feedback of the location notification of the terminal device.

S204: The SF determines the sender of the perception signal of the first perception service according to the positioning authority subscribed by the terminal device and/or the feedback of the positioning notification.

S204 can be used as an example of S102. For example, in S204, the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service determined by the SF is the first terminal in S102.

Among them, the SF can determine the terminal device that is allowed to send the perception signal from the multiple terminal devices (one or more terminal devices whose location information is allowed to be obtained) based on the positioning permissions and/or positioning notification feedback signed by the multiple terminal devices. Further, the SF can determine one or more terminal devices (that is, the first terminal) that are the senders of the perception signal of the first perception service from the one or more terminal devices allowed to serve as the senders of the perception signal.

It is understood that if the SF determines, based on the terminal device's contracted positioning authority and/or the feedback from the positioning notification, that no terminal device is permitted to act as the sender of the perception signal, the SF may terminate the first perception service, such as by sending a service failure message. Alternatively, the SF may change the perception mode, for example, to a perception mode in which the network device is used as the sender of the perception signal.

In Figure 6 above, the perception network element can trigger the acquisition of the positioning authority and/or positioning notification feedback signed by the terminal device based on the perception request, and determine the sender of the perception signal based on the positioning authority and/or positioning notification feedback signed by the terminal device, so as to achieve reasonable determination of the sender of the perception signal.

In an optional implementation, before S204, the SF may also obtain a perception role indication of the terminal device from the terminal device, so that, alternatively to the aforementioned S204, the SF may determine the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service based on the perception role indication of the terminal device. For example, in S204, the perception role indication of the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service determined by the SF may be used to indicate that the terminal device is allowed to serve as the transmitter of the perception signal.

For example, the perception role indication of the terminal device may indicate whether the terminal device can serve as a sender of a perception signal or not.

As shown in Figure 9, as an example of the SF obtaining a perception role indication from a terminal device, the terminal device can trigger a perception role request through the terminal device's operating system when determining that it needs to report perception capabilities. The terminal device's operating system can detect user operational feedback and determine a response message to the perception role request based on the operational feedback. The terminal device's operating system can also indicate the user's operational feedback (or response message) to the terminal device, indicating whether the user agrees or disagrees with the terminal device serving as the sender of the perception signal. The terminal device can determine the perception role indication based on the operational feedback from the perception role request. The terminal device can send the perception role indication to the AMF. For example, the terminal device can carry the perception role request indication in the perception capabilities and report it to the AMF via a registration request. The AMF can send the perception role indication to the SF. For example, the AMF can carry the perception capabilities or perception role indication in a perception registration request and send it to the SMF. Optionally, the terminal device can also trigger the perception role request at any other time and determine the perception role indication based on the operational feedback from the perception role request, without having to trigger it only when determining that it needs to report perception capabilities.

In addition, this application does not exclude that after the SF determines one or more terminal devices as the candidate senders of the perception signal according to the perception request, it sends a request for a perception role indication to the terminal device, so that the terminal device provides the perception role indication to the SF according to the request. The manner in which the terminal device obtains the perception role indication can refer to the manner in which the terminal device obtains the perception role indication in Figure 9, and will not be repeated here.

Figure 10 shows another example of a process when the method of Figure 5 is implemented by a perception network element. In Figure 10, the perception network element is an SF as an example. Depending on the requirements of the implementation scenario, the SF can also be replaced with other network elements or devices, such as a perception server, without specific limitation.

The difference from the process shown in Figure 9 is that the SF in Figure 9 triggers the determination of the feedback of the positioning authority and/or positioning notification signed by the terminal device based on the perception request, while in Figure 10, the SF can trigger the determination of the feedback of the positioning authority and/or positioning notification signed by the terminal device based on the perception registration request of the terminal device or any information carrying the perception capability of the terminal device, and determine the indication information used to indicate whether the location information of the terminal device is allowed or not to be obtained based on the positioning authority and/or positioning notification signed by the terminal device. It can also be understood that the SF can save the indication information of the terminal device, so after receiving the perception request, it is not necessary to determine the indication information based on the positioning authority and/or positioning notification signed by the terminal device, but only needs to read or obtain the indication information. In addition, in the process of Figure 10, the SF can obtain the indication information based on the perception request, and determine the terminal device as the sender of the perception signal based on the indication information of the terminal device.

As shown in FIG10 , the process may include the following steps:

S301: The terminal device sends a registration request to the AMF.

The registration request may include the sensing capability of the terminal device, which may be used to determine whether the terminal device can serve as a sensing signal sending node and/or a sensing signal receiving node in the sensing process.

It should be noted that this example describes the terminal device sending a registration request to the AMF as an example. The registration request can also be any information carrying the terminal device's perception capabilities sent by the terminal device to the network side, which will not be repeated later.

S302: The AMF sends a perception registration request of the terminal device to the SF according to the registration request of the terminal device, which is used to register the perception capability of the terminal device or to send the perception capability of the terminal device to the SF.

The perception registration request may include the perception capability of the terminal device and the identification of the terminal device.

Correspondingly, SF receives the perception registration request of the terminal device.

The SF may execute S303 and/or S304 based on the perceived registration request of the terminal device.

Optionally, before executing S303 and/or S304, SF can check whether the positioning authority subscribed by the terminal device and/or the feedback of the positioning notification has been stored locally. If the positioning authority subscribed by the terminal device has been stored, S303 can be ignored. If the feedback of the positioning notification has been stored, S304 can be ignored.

S303: SF obtains the location authority subscribed by the terminal device from UDM.

Among them, SF can refer to the process shown in Figure 7 to obtain the positioning authority signed by the terminal device.

S304: SF obtains feedback of positioning notification from the terminal device.

The SF may refer to the process shown in FIG. 8 to obtain feedback on the positioning notification.

It can be understood that S303 and S304 can refer to the description of S202 and S203 respectively, and will not be repeated here.

S305: The SF determines, based on the positioning authority subscribed by the terminal device and/or the feedback of the positioning notification, the indication information for indicating whether the location information of the terminal device is allowed or not to be obtained.

The SF may store the correspondence between the identifier of the terminal device and the indication information, so as to facilitate searching for the indication information according to the identifier of the terminal device.

S306: The SF receives a sensing request, where the sensing request may come from an initiator of the sensing service.

S306 can be used as an example of S101.

For S306 , please refer to the description of S201 .

S307: The SF determines a sender of the perception signal of the first perception service according to the indication information of the terminal device used to indicate whether the location information of the terminal device is allowed or not to be obtained.

S307 can be used as an example of S102. For example, in S307, the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service determined by the SF is the first terminal in S102.

In S307, the SF may determine one or more terminal devices according to the perception request, and determine, according to the identification of the one or more terminal devices, indication information for indicating whether the location information of the terminal device is allowed or not to be obtained.

The SF may determine one or more alternative terminal devices for sending the perception signal based on the perception request, i.e., obtain the one or more terminal devices or obtain the identifiers of the one or more terminal devices. For example, the perception request includes service requirements, such as the perception range, and the service requirements may be used to determine the one or more alternative terminal devices.

In this case, the SF may determine, from the multiple terminal devices, one or more terminal devices whose location information is permitted to be obtained, based on the indication information of the multiple terminal devices used to indicate whether the location information of the terminal devices is permitted to be obtained or not, as the terminal devices permitted to serve as transmitters of the perception signal. Further, the SF may determine, from the one or more terminal devices permitted to serve as transmitters of the perception signal, one or more terminal devices as transmitters of the perception signal of the first perception service.

It is understood that if the SF determines, based on the indication information of the terminal device indicating whether the location information of the terminal device is permitted or not to be obtained, that there is no terminal device that supports or allows the terminal device to serve as the sender of the perception signal, the SF may terminate the first perception service, such as by sending a service failure message. Alternatively, the SF may change the perception mode, for example, to a perception mode in which the network device is used as the sender of the perception signal.

In Figure 10 above, the perception network element can trigger the acquisition of the terminal device's subscribed positioning authority and/or positioning notification feedback based on the terminal device's perception registration request, and determine the terminal device's indication information, which can be used to indicate whether the terminal device's location information is allowed or not allowed to be acquired. In addition, the perception network element can obtain the terminal device's indication information based on the perception request of the first perception service, and determine the terminal device that is the sender of the perception signal of the first perception service based on the terminal device's indication information. The indication information of the terminal device that is the sender of the perception signal of the first perception service indicates that the terminal device's location information is allowed to be acquired, thereby achieving reasonable determination of the sender of the perception signal. It is understood that the SF can save the terminal device's indication information after determining the indication information based on the terminal device's subscribed positioning authority and/or positioning notification feedback. Therefore, after receiving the perception request, it is not necessary to determine the indication information based on the terminal device's subscribed positioning authority and/or positioning notification. It only needs to read or obtain the indication information.

In an optional implementation, before S307, SF may also obtain the perception role indication of the terminal device from the terminal device, so that in S307, SF may also determine the sender of the perception signal of the first perception service based on the perception role indication of the terminal device. It can also be understood that in S307, SF may obtain the stored indication information of the terminal device, and the indication information may be used to indicate that the terminal device is allowed to be the sender of the perception signal, that is, S307 may not include the action of SF determining the indication information based on the positioning authority subscribed by the terminal and/or the feedback of the positioning notification. For example, in S307, the perception role indication of the sender of the perception signal of the first perception service determined by SF may be used to indicate that the terminal device is allowed to be the sender of the perception signal.

Among them, the way in which SF obtains the perception reception indication of the terminal device can refer to Figure 9, or can refer to the description in other embodiments in this application, and will not be repeated here.

Figure 11 shows an example of a process when the method of Figure 5 is implemented by a terminal device. Figure 11 uses the first terminal as an example. Depending on the requirements of the implementation scenario, the first terminal can be replaced with another terminal or device. Furthermore, for the same sensing service, the process shown in Figure 11 can also be executed by multiple different terminals.

As shown in FIG11 , the process may include the following steps:

S401: A first terminal receives a sensing request, wherein the sensing request may come from an initiator of a sensing service, such as another terminal device (such as a third terminal), a base station, or an application of the first terminal.

The perception request is used to request a first perception service.

The first terminal may determine, based on the perception request, a mode for the first perception service, with the terminal device acting as the transmitter of the perception signal. For example, the perception request may include mode information of the perception service requirement, or the perception service requirement in the perception request may be used to determine the perception mode. The first terminal may also determine, based on the perception request, that the first terminal serve as the transmitter of the perception signal. For example, the perception request may be used to instruct or request the first terminal to serve as the transmitter of the perception signal for the first perception service.

It can be understood that S401 can be used as an exemplary implementation of step S101 in the process of FIG. 5 .

According to the perception request, the first terminal may be triggered to execute S402 and/or S403. For example, when the first terminal determines that the terminal device is the transmitter of the perception signal according to the perception request, or the first terminal itself is the transmitter of the perception signal, the first terminal triggers the execution of S402 and/or S403. For another example, the first terminal may trigger the execution of S202 and/or S203 according to the perception request, that is, when the perception request is obtained, the execution of S202 and/or S203 is triggered by default, without pre-determining the terminal device as the transmitter of the perception signal or the first terminal itself as the transmitter of the perception signal.

S402: The first terminal obtains the positioning authority subscribed by the first terminal.

The first terminal itself can store the contracted positioning authority. For example, the contracted positioning authority is configured by default in the configuration information of the first terminal, or the first terminal can store the contracted positioning authority when reporting the contract information. Therefore, in S402, the first terminal can obtain the contracted positioning authority from the local computer.

S403: The first terminal obtains feedback of the positioning notification.

With reference to the description of the feedback method of the positioning notification obtained by the terminal device in this application, in S403, the first terminal can trigger the positioning notification and obtain feedback of the positioning notification.

As described in this application, the first terminal may trigger a location notification to request the user to reply with a consent or disapproval of obtaining the location information. The first terminal may determine the feedback of the location notification based on the user's operational feedback, and the feedback of the location notification may be used to indicate consent for obtaining the location information of the first terminal.

In one possible implementation, S403 may be performed based on S402. For example, in S402, if the location authority subscribed by the first terminal includes third-party location information indicating that the first terminal is required to provide feedback consent when obtaining the location information of the first terminal, the first terminal triggers S403 to obtain feedback on the location notification of the first terminal.

S404: The first terminal determines, according to the positioning authority subscribed by the first terminal and/or feedback of the positioning notification, that the first terminal serves as a sender of the perception signal of the first perception service.

S404 may be an example of S102. For example, in S404, the first terminal may determine that its location information is allowed to be obtained and/or that it is allowed to be a transmitter of a perception signal, and the first terminal may be a transmitter of a perception signal of the first perception service.

It is understood that if the first terminal determines, based on the contracted positioning authority and/or positioning notification feedback, that it does not support or is not permitted to serve as the sender of the perception signal, it may terminate the first perception service, such as by sending a service failure message. Alternatively, the first terminal may change the perception mode, for example, to a perception mode in which the network device is used as the sender of the perception signal, such as by sending a perception request to the network device.

In Figure 11 above, the terminal device can trigger the acquisition of its own contracted positioning authority and/or positioning notification feedback based on the perception request, and determine whether it can or cannot serve as the sender of the perception signal based on its own contracted positioning authority and/or positioning notification feedback, so as to achieve reasonable determination of the sender of the perception signal.

In an optional implementation, before S404, the first terminal may further obtain a perception role indication of the first terminal, so that in S404, the first terminal may further determine the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service based on the perception role indication of the first terminal. For example, in S404, the perception role indication of the first terminal may be used to indicate that the terminal device is allowed to serve as the transmitter of the perception signal, and the first terminal may serve as the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service.

For example, when the first terminal determines that it needs to report its perception capabilities, it may trigger a perception role request through its operating system. The operating system of the first terminal may detect user operation feedback and determine a response message to the perception role request based on the operation feedback. The operating system of the first terminal may also send a response message to the first terminal, indicating whether the user agrees or disagrees with the first terminal serving as the sender of the perception signal. The first terminal may determine the perception role indication based on the response message to the perception role request.

It is understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the base station and the terminal include hardware structures and/or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that, in conjunction with the units and method steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or in a computer software-driven hardware manner depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

Figures 12 and 13 are schematic diagrams of the structures of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the sensing device or terminal device (such as the first terminal) in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be a sensing device or a terminal device (such as the first terminal), and can also be a component applied to the above-mentioned module or network element, such as a functional module or chip.

As shown in Figure 12, the communication device 1200 includes a processing unit 1210 and a transceiver unit 1220. The communication device 1200 is used to implement the actions of the sensing device, SF, terminal device or first terminal in any of the method embodiments shown in Figures 5 to 10 above.

When the communication device 1200 is used to implement the functions of the sensing device in the method embodiment shown in FIG5 , the transceiver unit 1220 may be configured to receive a sensing request. The processing unit 1210 may be configured to determine, based on the positioning authority of the first terminal and/or the sensing role indication of the first terminal, that the first terminal serves as the transmitter of the sensing signal for the first sensing service.

The processing unit 1210 may also be configured to perform other actions besides the receiving and/or sending actions related to the SF, terminal device, or first terminal in Figures 6 to 10. The transceiver unit 1220 may also be configured to perform the receiving and/or sending actions related to the SF, terminal device, or first terminal in Figures 6 to 10.

For a more detailed description of the processing unit 1210 and the transceiver unit 1220 , reference may be made to the relevant description in any of the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 10 .

As shown in Figure 13, the communication device 1300 includes a processor 1310 and an interface circuit 1320. The processor 1310 and the interface circuit 1320 are coupled to each other. It will be understood that the interface circuit 1320 can be a transceiver or an input/output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1300 may further include a memory 1330 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1310, or storing input data required by the processor 1310 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 1310 executes instructions. When the communication device 1300 is used to implement the method shown in Figure 5, the processor 1310 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 1210 described above, and the interface circuit 1320 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 1220 described above.

When the above-mentioned communication device is a chip applied to a sensing device or a terminal device, the chip implements the functions of the sensing device or the terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The chip can receive information sent to the sensing device or the terminal device by other network elements or devices through other modules (such as communication interfaces) in the sensing device or the terminal device, or the chip can send information to other modules (such as communication interfaces) in the sensing device or the terminal device. The information is sent by the sensing device or the terminal device to other network elements or devices.

It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a sensing device or a terminal device. The processor and storage medium can also be present in a sensing device or a terminal device as discrete components.

An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, comprising a perception device (such as SF or first terminal) or one or more devices in a terminal device or an apparatus in a corresponding device for implementing the above-mentioned method embodiment, so as to implement any one of the methods in Figures 5 to 10.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is used to store computer programs or instructions. When the computer-readable storage medium is executed, the method shown in the above method embodiment is implemented.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which, when executed on a computer, enables the method shown in the method embodiment to be implemented.

In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and/or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And/or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and/or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character "/" generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of this application, the character "/" indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in a "division" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims (28)

A communication method, comprising: receiving a sensing request, where the sensing request is used to request a first sensing service; According to the positioning authority of the first terminal and/or the perception role indication of the first terminal, the first terminal is determined as the sender of the perception signal of the first perception service. The positioning authority of the first terminal is used to determine that the location information of the first terminal is allowed to be obtained, and the perception role indication is used to indicate that the first terminal is allowed to be the sender of the perception signal. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A perception control request is sent to the first terminal, where the perception control request is used to instruct sending a perception signal of the first perception service. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Sending a perception signal of the first perception service. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that before determining, based on the positioning authority of the first terminal, the first terminal as the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service, the method further comprises: A perception mode is determined according to the perception request, where the perception mode is sending the perception signal through a terminal. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: Obtaining a location permission for the first terminal, where the location permission for the first terminal includes at least one of the following: Feedback on a positioning notification, where the positioning notification is used to request the first terminal or the user of the first terminal to reply with consent or non-consent to obtaining location information; The positioning authority subscribed by the first terminal; The indication information is used to indicate that the location information of the first terminal is allowed to be obtained, and the indication information is determined according to the positioning authority subscribed by the first terminal and/or the feedback of the positioning notification. The method according to claim 5, wherein the positioning authority of the first terminal includes the indication information, and obtaining the positioning authority of the first terminal includes: Obtaining the location authority subscribed by the first terminal and/or feedback on the location notification; The indication information is determined according to the positioning authority subscribed by the first terminal and/or the feedback of the positioning notification. The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein obtaining feedback on the positioning notification comprises: sending the positioning notification; A feedback of the positioning notification is obtained according to the first response message of the positioning notification. The method according to claim 7, wherein sending the positioning notification comprises: Sending the positioning notification to the first terminal through an access and mobility management network element; The method further comprises: Receive the first response message from the access and mobility management network element, where the first response message indicates: the first terminal or the user of the first terminal replies that they agree to obtain the location information, the first terminal or the user of the first terminal replies that they do not agree to obtain the location information, the user has no operation feedback, or the first terminal does not reply to the positioning notification. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: The access and mobility management network element receives the positioning notification; The access and mobility management network element sends the positioning notification to the first terminal; The access and mobility management network element sends the first response message based on the second response message of the first terminal to the positioning notification or the failure to receive the second response message to the positioning notification within a predetermined time. The second response message indicates: the first terminal or the user of the first terminal replies to agree to obtain the location information, the first terminal or the user of the first terminal replies to disagree to obtain the location information, or the user has no operation feedback. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the positioning authority of the first terminal includes the positioning authority subscribed by the first terminal, and obtaining the positioning authority of the first terminal includes: Obtain the location authority subscribed by the first terminal from the data management function network element. The method according to claim 10, wherein, before determining the first terminal as the transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service, the method further comprises: Acquiring perception capability information of the first terminal from the first terminal, where the perception capability information indicates that the first terminal supports being a transmitter of a perception signal. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein obtaining the location authority subscribed by the first terminal from the data management function network element includes: Sending a subscription location authority acquisition request to the data management function network element, where the subscription location authority acquisition request includes an identifier of the first terminal; Receive the location authority subscribed by the first terminal from the data management function network element. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: The data management function network element receives a request for obtaining a subscription positioning authority; The data management function network element determines the positioning authority subscribed by the first terminal according to the identifier of the first terminal; The data management function network element sends the positioning authority subscribed by the first terminal. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 13, wherein the positioning authority of the first terminal includes feedback of the positioning notification, and obtaining the positioning authority of the first terminal includes: triggering the positioning notification; Obtaining operational feedback on the positioning notification; The feedback of the positioning notification is determined according to the operation feedback. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising: The perceived role indication is obtained from the first terminal. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: The access and mobility management network element receives the perception role indication from the first terminal; The access and mobility management network element sends the perception role indication. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the perception role indication is carried in a registration request of the first terminal. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein determining, based on the positioning authority of the first terminal and/or the perception role indication of the first terminal, the first terminal as the sender of the perception signal of the first perception service includes: According to the positioning authority of multiple second terminals and/or the perception role indication of the multiple second terminals, the first terminal is determined from the multiple second terminals as the sender of the perception signal of the first perception service, the positioning authority of the second terminal is used to indicate whether the location information is allowed or not to be obtained, and the perception role indication of the second terminal is used to indicate whether it is allowed or not to be the sender of the perception signal. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the positioning authority of the first terminal corresponds to a position and/or a time; The determining the first terminal as a transmitter of the perception signal of the first perception service further includes: According to the location of the first terminal and/or the time information of the perception request, the first terminal is determined as the sender of the perception signal of the first perception service. A communication method, comprising: receiving a location notification, wherein the location notification is used to request the first terminal or the user of the first terminal to reply to agree or disagree to obtain location information; triggering a feedback request for the positioning notification according to the positioning notification, wherein the feedback request for the positioning notification is used to request the user to reply to agree or disagree with obtaining the location information; A response message is sent based on the user's operational feedback on the feedback request for the positioning notification or the user's lack of operational feedback, the response message indicating: the first terminal or the user replies with consent to obtain location information, disagreement to obtain location information, or the user's lack of operational feedback. A communication method, comprising: Obtaining a perception role indication, where the perception role indication is used to indicate that the first terminal is allowed to serve as a sender of a perception signal; The perceived role indication is sent. The method of claim 21, wherein obtaining the perceived role indication comprises: Triggering a perception role request, wherein the perception role request is used to request the user to respond and agree to act as the sender of the perception signal; Obtaining operational feedback requested by the perception role; The perceived role indication is determined according to the operational feedback. The method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that the perception role indication is carried in a registration request of the terminal. A communication device, characterized in that it includes a unit or module for executing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 19, or includes a unit or module for executing the method as described in claim 20, or includes a unit or module for executing the method as described in any one of claims 21 to 23. A communication device, characterized in that it includes a processor, wherein the processor is used to execute a computer program or instruction to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, or to implement the method according to claim 20, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 21 to 23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a computer program or instruction is stored in the storage medium, and when the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 is implemented, or the method according to claim 20 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 21 to 23 is implemented. A computer program product, characterized in that when the computer program product is executed by a computer, the computer executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, or the method according to claim 20, or the method according to any one of claims 21 to 23. A communication system, comprising: A sensing device, configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19; The terminal device is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 20-23.